South Carolina metal behemoths, Nile, wound their way to our shores for the first time in over two and half years to lay customary waste to the UK’s metal hordes.

Daniel Cairns was on sentry duty in Highbury, London, and not only sent back this report, but spoke to lead general Karl Sanders about the perilous effects of modern technology on the ancient arts of death metal demon-summoning. Check out the video and live review below!

NILE

EX DEO/SVART CROWN

THE GARAGE, LONDON

SVART CROWN [8] are yet another example of just how far ahead of the pack the French are when it comes to extreme metal. They’re clearly indebted to the discordant likes of Deathspell Omega and Celeste, but they’re also adept at throwing in some beastly Gojira-style grooves too, for when you feel like a bit of a dance. There’s a good turnout for them, and their momentum will only increase. It’s a smashing set, and the bass is absolutely devastating, every thump of the instrument, eliciting a rattle in the chest. EX DEO [8] are a more simplistic and much sillier affair, but by god, they’re fun. It’s genuinely difficult to dislike any band when they come out dressed as Roman Legionnaires and sing songs about fighting and battles. It’s like a heavy metal musical version of Spartacus, without the gore and gratuitous nudity obviously, but still. There’s some excellently heavy metal posing by frontman Maurizio Iacono, as he wails stuff like ‘Hold the line’ and ‘You killed my father’. There’s a fantastic response from the Garage crowd, fists bumping in unison.

NILE [9] come out to an intro track that isn’t a million miles away from the theme of ex-WWE wrestler Goldberg, before going on the warpath. Basically, they sound absolutely devastating tonight. Messrs Sanders and Toller Wade know it too, as a giant, shit-eating grin spreads across Karl’s face constantly. They’re excellent on record obviously, but seeing them live is a different matter altogether. Their mummified, balls to the wall, death metal attack is jaw-dropping in its sheer smothering brutality, even invoking a completely un-ironic throwing up of the metal horns. Highlights include a churning, vicious sounding Sarcophagus and Ithyphalic, featuring the unlikely singalong, ‘Anoint my phallus with the blood of the fallen’. Lovely stuff.

“I’ve not been this happy about an album in years,” says the Prince Of Fucking Darkness. “I’m not trying to sell my home – if this record was just OK, I’d fucking say it. But honestly, hand on heart, it’s one of the best things I’ve done in my entire life.”

Ozzy also offers some thoughts on the situation surrounding original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, who ruled himself out of the band’s reunion last year.

“It would have been great to have Bill – all of us said that,” adds Ozzy. “But you can’t expect someone of Bill’s age to be as agile as he used to be. He’s had heart attacks. If he’d turned up and played like he used to, or nearly as well, maybe we’d have worked something out…But we decided that if we were ever going to do this fucking album, you’ve got to be on the case.

Black Sabbath reunited back in November 2011. Drummer Bill Ward has since left the reunion.

“It got to the point where we said, ‘Are we just going to sit and wait for him to get off his fucking arse or what?’ We had to decide – we couldn’t just keep the fans waiting any fucking longer.”

HAMMER SMASH! SLIPKNOT are back, motherfuckers! Des Moines’ finest return to rip Donington to shreds next month, and return to our cover for the biggest and most exclusive interview with the Iowa legends you will read this year.

Corey, Joey and Clown talk frankly about Download, their ongoing legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the modern era, how far they’ve come in their attempts to move on from the loss of Paul Gray and, of course, whether we’re any closer to a new Slipknot album. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s only in our new issue, on sale right now! We even get the drop on JOEY JORDISON’s brand new band.

Plus, LOOK AT HOW FUCKING AWESOME THAT COVER IS!!!! IT WAS DRAWN BY PROFESSIONAL COMIC PEOPLE AND FOLDS OUT AND EVERYTHING!!!!

Amazing freebies? We shit ‘em. As well as a FREE IRON MAIDEN POSTER PACK, the new issue’s also packing a FREE ANTHEMS OF REBELLION CD, featuring the likes of Heart Of A Coward, Carcer City, Erlen Meyer, Sectioned and Empress!

Also in the new issue – of which you can order a special, limited edition hard copy right here – we have a special JEFF HANNEMAN tribute, featuring thoughts and messages from some of his closest friends and peers, as well as some heartwarming, never-before-heard anecdotes that shed some light on the man behind those Slayer songs. RIP, brother.

What links Pantera and Hilary Duff? BRING ME THEHORIZON’s Oli Sykes, obviously. Confused? You will be when you read his Discs Of Doom…Oh, and speaking of discs, you may have possibly heard that BLACK SABBATH have a new album out soon. You may have also possibly heard that we’re a bit excited about it. We talk to Messrs Osbourne, Iommi and Butler as 13 finally draws near, and find out if the album itself lives up to 34 years of waiting. Fingers crossed…

We also pay homage to The Man, The Myth, The Elvis-Voiced legend that is DANZIG as he prepares to return to the UK, send hails to AMON AMARTH as they reveal some of the mythology behind their new album (hint: there’s Vikings in it), take a look at why heavy metal actors are popping up all over the damn place and ask CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho if his boozing has damaged the band’s progress as much as it’s probably damaged his liver.

Plus: THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN explain why they’re harbouring metal’s own Toxic Twins, IN THIS MOMENT’s Maria Brink draws the line between selling and selling out, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and BLEED FROM WITHIN get chummy and we find out how the hell a music lecturer managed to get SERJ TANKIAN, DEVIN TOWNSEND and IHSAHN to join in with his new charity project. What a hero.

All this plus our awesome ORCHID Subterranea cover feature, reviews of all the essential heavy shit you need in your life this month and our special guide to the hidden gems at DOWNLOAD 2013!

You want this. Don’t deny it. You want it bad. It’s on sale right now, and you can order your copy from the safety of your armchair below…

HAMMER SMASH! SLIPKNOT are back, motherfuckers! Des Moines’ finest return to rip Donington to shreds next month, and return to our cover for the biggest and most exclusive interview with the Iowa legends you will read this year.

Corey, Joey and Clown talk frankly about Download, their ongoing legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the modern era, how far they’ve come in their attempts to move on from the loss of Paul Gray and, of course, whether we’re any closer to a new Slipknot album. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s only in our new issue, on sale Tuesday May 28. We even get the drop on JOEY JORDISON’s brand new band.

Plus, LOOK AT HOW FUCKING AWESOME THAT COVER IS!!!! IT WAS DRAWN BY PROFESSIONAL COMIC PEOPLE AND FOLDS OUT AND EVERYTHING!!!!

Amazing freebies? We shit ‘em. As well as a FREE IRON MAIDEN POSTER PACK, the new issue’s also packing a FREE ANTHEMS OF REBELLION CD, featuring the likes of Heart Of A Coward, Carcer City, Erlen Meyer, Sectioned and Empress!

Also in the new issue – of which you can order a special, limited edition hard copy right here – we have a special JEFF HANNEMAN tribute, featuring thoughts and messages from some of his closest friends and peers, as well as some heartwarming, never-before-heard anecdotes that shed some light on the man behind those Slayer songs. RIP, brother.

What links Pantera and Hilary Duff? BRING ME THEHORIZON’s Oli Sykes, obviously. Confused? You will be when you read his Discs Of Doom…Oh, and speaking of discs, you may have possibly heard that BLACK SABBATH have a new album out soon. You may have also possibly heard that we’re a bit excited about it. We talk to Messrs Osbourne, Iommi and Butler as 13 finally draws near, and find out if the album itself lives up to 34 years of waiting. Fingers crossed…

We also pay homage to The Man, The Myth, The Elvis-Voiced legend that is DANZIG as he prepares to return to the UK, send hails to AMON AMARTH as they reveal some of the mythology behind their new album (hint: there’s Vikings in it), take a look at why heavy metal actors are popping up all over the damn place and ask CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho if his boozing has damaged the band’s progress as much as it’s probably damaged his liver.

Plus: THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN explain why they’re harbouring metal’s own Toxic Twins, IN THIS MOMENT’s Maria Brink draws the line between selling and selling out, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and BLEED FROM WITHIN get chummy and we find out how the hell a music lecturer managed to get SERJ TANKIAN, DEVIN TOWNSEND and IHSAHN to join in with his new charity project. What a hero.

All this plus our awesome ORCHID Subterranea cover feature, reviews of all the essential heavy shit you need in your life this month and our special guide to the hidden gems at DOWNLOAD 2013!

You want this. Don’t deny it. You want it bad. It’s on sale Tuesday May 28, but you can order your copy from the safety of your armchair below…

The building was packed almost an hour before the band even got near the stage, and from the moment they launched into Into The Void to the final closing seconds of Paranoid, the sense of celebration, jubilation and rock ‘n’ fucking roll in the air was tangible.

Tony Got The Reception Of A Lifetime

There was, of course, a huge reception for Messrs Osbourne and Butler, but when Tony Iommi walked out on stage, the place went ballistic. “Tony!” chants echoed around the building all night, and when Ozzy pointed at the man himself and screamed “HE. IS. IRON. MAN!” it was a legendary moment in the making.

They Managed To Sound Even Heavier Than We Thought Possible

How do the godfathers of heavy itself manage to make their set sound even more bone-crushingly arena-collapsing than usual? Slow a few numbers down and put down a mix that could blow up a whale’s appendix.

They Rolled Out Some Rarities

They could have played for four hours straight and still left out some ragers, but airing the likes of Under The Sun, Wheels Of Confusion, Dirty Women and Tomorrow’s Dream was world-class.

U.K. based act De Profundis is currently in the studio working on an upcoming full-length album. The band has now checked in with the following recording update:

“3rd day of drum recording done! 6 out of 8 songs done. Sorry for lack of updates, hope to have some more videos done soon for you guys.

“Anyway our drummer Nick Tingle played some absolutely insane sections that messrs Hellhammer, Reinert and Sandoval et al would have been proud of. Two more days of drums and bass before we move to our studio for stage 2 of recording – guitars and vocals!”

You can also check out previously posted De Profundis rehearsal footage by heading over to this location.